Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

In order to evict a tenant, you have to post a notice on the door or hand deliver the notice to the tenant giving them a few days to bring the rent current. If they do not, then you can file a lawsuit for eviction in the county court of your county. You will have to pay the filing fee, which is approximately $300 and have the tenant served with the eviction lawsuit papers by having the sheriff's office deliver them to the tenant.

If the tenant does not pay the past due rent into a court account within a few days, then the court will issue an eviction order. If the tenant has defenses to the case (i.e. that they've already paid the rent), then they can file an "answer" to the lawsuit in court. The judge will schedule a hearing within a few days.

If the tenant does not pay the money into the court account and file an answer to the lawsuit, then the judge will automatically sign an order evicting the tenant. You have to give this to the sheriff's office and pay a fee to them. Sheriff's deputies will then go to the home and tell the tenant that he has 24 hours to vacate. If the tenant does not do so, then the sheriff's deputies will remove all of the items in the home and change the locks on the door.